Chosen
by Tyzula-Forever
Summary: Thirty-five girls, one prince, a chance of a lifetime. Ty Lee has always dreamt of jewels, dresses and escaping her dead-end life by marrying the stunning Prince Zuko, so when she is Selected, she thinks her future is set. But then, at the cusp of achieving her dreams, Ty Lee meets his captivating sister and everything gets complicated. /The Selection AU/
1. Chapter 1

_AN: This is based on The Selection by Kiera Cass, but the plot is very, very different from the books. I just really liked many of the concepts from the book (like the Selection itself). This first chapter is a bit more like a prologue, in my opinion. The plot doesn't set into motion until the next chapter; this one is more background. Anyway, I hope you like it._

 _It's ALL in Ty Lee's POV._

* * *

 ** _/Chosen/_**

 ** _by Tyzula-Forever_**

* * *

I had never been more excited in my _whole life_! And I got excited all the time. _Never_ as excited as right then.

Nothing about my little world right then mattered _at all_ anymore the second I got that letter from the messenger hawk. I lived in a small town too far away from Caldera, but I went there twice before for the Fire Days Festival; the Prince spoke, and he was _dreamy_.

"Ty Lee. Ty Lee, stop babbling like that," my mother ordered, smashing her cane against the floor like she always did when things got out of control here. And stuff always got out of control with six kids.

"I don't know how to say it," I breathed and my mother shook her head.

"You're not articulate enough for Prince Zuko," she barked and I sunk into the chair I had jumped out of, discarding the torn envelope and clutching the parchment tightly in my fist. Mother softened once I quieted. "You could be, of course. But you … you know I love you, but I do worry that you're just another pretty face to them. You're not Selected _yet_."

That reality crushed me, but I kept on smiling. My mother taught me that. I was supposed to entertain people, and I was supposed to keep on smiling and keep on doing acrobatics that left wealthy people agape. It kind of hurt when I realized I was her best bet at _real_ success as a Five, better than any of my sister's talents.

 _"You could go to Caldera as a dancer or an acrobat. So many professional shows would die to have you…"_

If I accepted this I wouldn't… be able to do that.

"I bet he's not that interested in me walking on my hands," I said quietly, toying with my fingers. My mother's words humbled me way too much.

But my sister shot me a half smile. "I guarantee you he'd be interested in the flexibility."

" _Rey_!" screamed mother and Rey jumped, but I couldn't stop laughing.

I knew it was not going to be easy, and that I didn't have much of a chance, but The Selection was the most amazing thing that had ever happened to me.

"Help me fill out the form," I demanded of Rey and she nodded sharply. We walked to my bedroom on the creaky stairs of our house and sat down with ink, a brush and the beautiful parchment that the royals sent.

Rey cleared her throat and dramatically read, "Our beloved Prince Zuko is coming of age this month. As he ventures into adulthood, he hopes to move forward with a partner, to marry a true Daughter of the Fire Nation. Please fill out the enclosed form and return it to your local Province Services Office. One woman from each province will be drawn at random to meet the prince."

I giggled. "You should be an actress!" I insisted and Rey flashed a smile. Smiling; I was good at that. People always said a single smile from me was enough to melt a man. Maybe that would help … if I got that far.

"You should be Fire Lady," Rey said and I beamed. "See! You could calm an _army_ by doing that."

A thought struck me as I read about the royal family. "What happens with his sister? Does she get a Selection?"

Rey scrunched up her face in thought before replying, "She's the second child, right? She won't have the throne unless…" Rey clearly didn't want to say anything about our prince dying. "Well, I bet she winds up with somebody good for the empire too, but nobody'll make a big deal of it. Maybe some governor or something."

I thought that was okay. And I kind of forgot about it as I started filling out the very intrusive form. It was puzzling to me that there were so many questions when I wasn't even Selected yet, but they needed all my information if I was, I guessed.

Name, age, physical descriptors, contact information, caste, place of birth, questions about skills, education and anything that would make me stand out. It took me an embarrassingly long amount of time to fill it out, using scrap paper and sighing frequently. I wanted it to be perfect.

I wanted the best possible chance to be with Prince Zuko.

I _needed_ the best possible chance to be with Prince Zuko.

 **x**

The day I turned in my form, I went to a Diviner. My siblings and father said it was silly stuff I believed in, but my mother always talked about how I was an old soul in a young body. I could see auras and my mother encouraged it, which was all I really needed.

I didn't write that down on my application.

But I was pretty sure that seeing those mystical colors when I focused would help me out in the competition. _If_ I was in the competition. I had to stop thinking as if I already was; all girls between fourteen and sixteen got those letters.

Maybe I didn't stand a chance.

That was why I needed my fortune discussed and I needed warnings for my future.

I was scared.

 **x**

The Diviner gave me a piece of paper that I stowed in my bra and kept on me even as I slept, because I didn't understand much of it, but I was sure it would be helpful soon. It said a few things about the desires of my heart, and I knew that was about Prince Zuko. Did that mean I would be selected? Did that mean he would fall in love with me?

I was currently standing in line at the Province Services Office. It was a long walk from my house, and I only wound up with Rey and dad. Mom couldn't make it that far. Four of my sisters were married. Two married up. Two married other Fives. Rey and I were the last ones at home. I danced in a way that made people gawk. She played every instrument. We were a totally dynamic duo.

Rey kept licking her hand and rubbing it on my hair to try to make my braid smoother. We found out a bit late that there would be pictures, and I looked kind of indecent in skimpy pink with messy hair. I ran away to the bathroom before giving up and standing in line again.

"Do you ever wonder what it's like in the far away provinces?" I asked. "Like, are people lining up next to penguins somewhere?"

"I don't think penguins would stand much of a chance in the Selection," Rey said, laughing.

I glared at her. Then smiled.

My grin was my best weapon in this war for the crown.


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: It's been over a year since I posted the first chapter. I'm sorry for how long it took me to continue this story and update it. To tell the truth, I was really into_ _The Selection_ _when I posted it and lost interest in those books, but I kept meaning to continue this fic. I promise to update much more often now that I'm continuing. Thanks for reading._

* * *

My family, including my married elder sisters, gathered in the Province Square for the announcement. Messengers from the Royal Court all spread out across the Nation to read the papers they kept sealed tightly until the many ceremonies throughout the land. No one from my section of the province had ever been chosen for The Selection. Granted, the last one was for Queen Ursa a _trillion_ years ago (okay, when my mom was young, so not _quite_ a trillion years ago).

A well-dressed man stood on the stage, clutching the scroll of names tightly in his beefy hand. He stood and waited for the gathering to settle before clearing his throat.

"Welcome, citizens. The Fire Lord and Prince send their warmest regards," said the man, albeit I doubted the royals cared as much as he implied. "Without further ado, allow me to announce the thirty-five girls chosen for The Selection."

The Square clapped and cheered and I _absolutely_ joined in on the applause. I could _not_ be more excited in a thousand years over a thousand fun things.

He read names that I did not pay much attention to; I was too preoccupied worrying about my own coming out of his mouth.

And he said, "And from your lovely province, Miss Ty Lee, Five."

The response was thrilled, save for the other girls my age. I almost _fainted_. It was a miracle I did not pass out in the middle of the Square.

This was the best day of my entire life.

 **x**

I couldn't stop the flood of attention after my name was announced throughout the provinces.

It was fun, but overwhelming, and I wondered why I ever wanted that from people. I started to spout rehearsed words that I hoped people would not see through. The prying, poking, obnoxious examiners were worse than the nosy neighbors.

I kind of hated my dreams for a couple of days, and I almost never hated anything. In fact, I loved every experience I went through and every object and every person except on _rare_ occasion.

I kind of hated my dreams even more when I had to say goodbye to my family. All of them. And there were a _lot_ of them. The soldiers arrived at my home in order to soon sweep me away to chase my destiny, which was Fire Lady, I knew. I thought I always knew that I would be beautiful and reign over a huge empire.

That day, I was dressed in the uniform of the selected. It was a simple dark red dress that I wished was pink, and a fire-lily pinned in my brunette hair. I liked the outfit on me but I still packed my ordinary clothes, whether I'd ever get to wear them or not.

My mom struggled to let me go after she hugged me. Rey clung to my arm until the soldiers escorting me had to shoo her away.

"Goodbye, sweetheart!" cried my mother as a soldier opened the door and gestured outside.

"You'll win!" Rey shouted, waving feverishly.

I stared at my humble home that barely fit me and my sisters for a long while until a handsome soldier helped me into the fancy carriage with gilded features.

During the long and bumpy ride, I slept. I was exhausted from the nonstop parade of people, and was pretty relieved to finally drift away with peace simmering inside of me.

It was when I arrived in Caldera and saw all of the other girls that I realized I had some competition. That made me both scared and excited at the same time. They all looked like they could be my best friends, but they also all stood in the way of the future that I wanted so deeply.

I looked around at the many, many gorgeous girls from all over Caldera. A few stood out to me. The sullen one in the corner who looked like she was forced to sign up, the beautiful Water Tribe girl with glistening big blue eyes and a fierce and determined curl of her lips, the dangerous looking bad girl I was kind of scared of, the two simple looking girls with a subtle and traditional beauty, the girl who looked young but was stunning, the girl with muscles but beautiful almost-red hair, the girl with eyes that looked oddly milky with a hint of mint underneath and dirty black hair, the twice as gorgeous Water Tribe girl with black hair that swished gracefully in the wind, the girl with hair white as snow.

The others all were traditional Fire Nation beauties who I could barely tell apart.

I had to stand out with my peachy skin and lovely braid, but I did not know if that was good or bad. Maybe so many girls looked similar because Prince Zuko had a type and I was not that type.

They all began to congregate. I was good at friends, but I ended up rushing to the only girl not in a pack. The sullen one. Not really the kind of person I usually hung out with, but someone I felt weirdly like I could trust.

She looked up at me, then looked away again.

"Hi, I'm Ty Lee. We'll be friends I think," I said confidently. She met my eyes again.

"Are you serious?"

"Mhm," I said and she shrugged. I expected to be rejected, but she nodded.

"Whatever. I'm Mai," she said.

I hugged her and she did not hug me back, but did not push me away either.

"It's so good to meet you, Mai!" I exclaimed, grinning.

"Do you want to be here?" she asked and my lips opened with a pop. "What?"

"Of course I do! This is the best thing that has ever happened to me in ever!" I said.

"Oh," was her apathetic reply. "I would rather be dead than here."

She said that very casually. I did not ask her about the circumstances and instead just smiled.

We stood beside each other until a woman exited the palace and ushered us to dressing rooms.

 **x**

"I'm not losing the braid," I said to the woman with the stack of potential dresses and huge box of make-up. "It's like a signature, you know?"

"It's cute, but I'm re-doing it; it's tangled," she said, untying the ribbon and fishing a gorgeous pink one lined with lace out of her box. She combed my hair and I winced every few seconds, then she braided my hair once more and stepped back to admire her own work. "By the way, I'm Lily."

"Nice to meet you, Lily." I beamed. She smiled back.

"Such a sweet girl," she said, waving her hand.

She began her vigorous work. She used oils and perfumes that made me smell amazing. Then she did my nails and painted them the same bright pink.

"How'd you know my favorite color?" I asked as she dipped my hands in ice water to dry the nail polish instantly.

"I saw your pictures from your registration. Your outfit was beautiful. Too skimpy, but lovely."

She garbed me in a flowing pink gown with one strap. It was taut at the bodice and wavy everywhere else. I stared in the mirror for an eternity.

"I love it," was all I could whisper.

Lily smiled in satisfaction.

 **x**

We were escorted to the welcome dinner. I sat by Mai and talked to her rapidly, and the girl beside me—one of the Water Tribe ones named Katara—and I smiled so brightly I thought I might die of it. I was just so happy I could not contain myself.

After that, we had to go upstairs. In the morning, we were going to meet Prince Zuko.

I looked around my room and fell in love with it. I was so used to having to share with my sisters. I never had this much space or this much privacy. When I went out in the balcony, I saw the prettiest garden in the entire Universe.

Smiling softly to myself, I lied down and went to sleep.

 **x**

In the morning, I was peacefully sleeping when someone started shaking me.

"Ten more minu…" I murmured, rolling over. Never in my life had I felt so comfy in a bed.

"Lady Ty Lee, get _up_ ," said Lily and I finally opened my eyes. "It will take a lot of time to get you dressed and prepared to meet Prince Zuko."

"Oh!" I sat straight up in a flicker of a second. I was so excited.

She got to work, touching up my features, painting on the make-up and pink lipstick again, and sliding me into another, similar but slightly-different pink dress. It had _much_ more shimmer than the last one did.

I left my room and two soldiers escorted me through the palace.

Happily, I settled in this parlor. The other girls were crowded inside and I sat down by Mai and Katara again. They were not talking to each other and even I was silent; I was scared as could be.

A woman named Joo Dee prattled on about proper manners, but she fell silent when the door opened. I looked up and saw the most handsome man there was in the world. Even the scar marring his face just made him looking more beautiful.

Joo Dee bowed. "Prince Zuko, welcome."

He said, "I want to meet the girls. One at a time, I'll call you in to introduce yourself."

His voice kind of rasped and I really adored that. Then what he actually said scared me and hit me and I was horrified.

I was going to meet Prince Zuko. And. I. Was. Scared.

 **x**

I walked in for my introduction. Prince Zuko sat on a beautiful golden chair. He gestured for me to sit across from him in an equally beautiful seat.

"Ty Lee, right?" he said and I nodded. "It is nice to meet you." It sounded forced. I definitely blushed and my heart shuddered from fear. "You look pretty."

"Thank you," I said, beaming. "It's good to meet you too."

He studied me. I knew immediately he was sizing up my looks; Zuko was acting just as shallow as every other guy who saw me on the street or at a party I was entertaining. It put me off a bit, but I bat my eyelashes and crossed my legs to display my features, smiling.

"I'll see you later," he said.

So much for an in-depth interview.

I hoped he would not send me home for it.


End file.
